$10K per retweet: the crypto-style KOL marketing playbook invading AI startups
suchenzang · x · 2026-09-16
A former marketing practitioner reveals the emerging KOL marketing economy around AI on X/Twitter: an account with 20K followers charged $10K per retweet, and intermediaries send brands price sheets claiming to "match" suitable KOLs—a playbook well known in crypto circles.
Her thesis: if $1M spent on a single marketing campaign improves the odds of raising your next $100M round, it's worth it for AI startups—explaining why budgets are flowing into this gray channel.
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